Perseverance Creates Possibilities

Hebrews 10:35-36
Therefore do not cast away your confidence, which has great reward. For you have need of endurance, so that after you have done the will of God, you may receive the promise

Wow! We just made it through one of the wildest years of our lives! Last year, 2020, was a year like no other. We did not ask for everything that happened and no one was totally ready for it all.

Unfortunately, the three main themes of 2020--coronavirus, civil unrest, and the polarizing political environment--did not magically disappear when the clock struck midnight. Changing the calendar doesn’t change the world and some of these challenges will continue into 2021. Jesus tells us in John 16:33 that we will have tribulations in this world, but stay encouraged because He has overcome the world!

How should believers prepare to face the challenges of 2021?

As I prayed about 2021, God spoke two words to me: perseverance and possibilities.

Perseverance means steady persistence in spite of obstacles, difficulties, and opposition. It refers to the ability to stay on course even through enormous fatigue and heaviness. Perseverance includes great stamina, unyielding patience, tremendous endurance, and tireless diligence. Because perseverance requires so much from an individual, many people avoid it.

Perseverance creates possibilities--those circumstances, opportunities, and situations favorable for achieving your desired outcomes. You may encounter great opposition in 2021, but fighting the good fight of faith and persevering through great resistance qualifies you for possibilities.

Jesus talked about possibilities in ‭‭Matthew‬ ‭19:26‬ (‭NKJV‬‬) when He told His disciples, “With men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”

Jesus’ words here--things are impossible and things are possible--sound like a contradiction, but what He is really saying is that whether something is possible depends on who you are with. In other words, as the late Bernie Mac used to say, “Who you wit?”

Check out Matthew 19:26 in the Wuest translation.
And Jesus, having turned His eyes upon them and having considered them, said to them, “In the presence of men, as men look at this, it is impossible. But in the presence of God, as He looks at this, all things are possible.”

God and people can look at the same circumstances and see very different situations. God looks at your circumstances and sees solutions and possibilities where people can only see limitations and impossibilities.

Please understand that possibilities are exclusive. We have different gifts and talents, and God has different plans for our lives. What’s possible for you may not be possible for me and vice versa. That may not sound fair, but I want to encourage you to continue to persevere and trust God to level the playing field.

God’s message for us in 2021 is this: “If you will set your heart to persevere this year, your perseverance will create possibilities.”

Let me hear from you. What do you want to accomplish in 2021?